The Other You
by KyrieEleisonElise
Summary: Karma's childhood sweetheart Nagisa died years ago, and his life has never been the same since. Karma thought he had finally put the past behind him, but then he runs into someone with the exact same name and face as his first love.
1. Chapter 1

**An; Review if I should write more. This is an AU**

* * *

"I'm not allowed out this far." Nagisa said, her voice sounding a mixture of apprehensive and excited as she followed her friend further into the forrest, flowers and twigs caught in her long blue hair.

"Relax. Your Mam's out for the day. Besides. We're already 12- we should be aloud out this far." Karma replied, keeping a tight hold on Nagisa's hand as he ducked under increasingly dense tree branches. "Once you see this hideout I found it will be totally worth it. Trust me."

"Why do I feel like that's the worst thing I could do." Nagisa grumbled, but she still followed Karma never-the-less, her grip on his hand not loosening. The red haired boy snickered.

"Have a little faith. I am your boyfriend, after all."

It was true. The two of them had being going out for a month now, which for twelve years olds is pretty impressive. They had grown up next door to each other and had been best friends for as long as either could remember. Karma was forever pulling them into trouble, and Nagisa was pulling them out of it. They were opposites; Karma the violent bad boy, and Nagisa the sweet helpful girl. But they were inseparable.

The two of them walked through the woods, shielded from the afternoon sun by a canopy of trees.

"Here we are." Karma said, stopping suddenly. There was a clearing right in the middle of the woods with a small waterfall and a lake, countless bluebells bloomed all around. It was like a secret Garden.

"Wow.." Nagisa murmured, her blue eyes shimmering with wonder. Karma couldn't help the satisfied smirk that grew on his face. She liked it. He wasn't prepared for Nagisa to stand on her tiptoes suddenly, lean over, and kiss him. It was very brief and very chaste, but still made Karma's heart race and his cheeks flush.

"I think it's beautiful." Nagisa said, pulling away from him, a light blush dusting her cheeks, her blue hair spilling down her shoulders, her eyes as bright as the sky. Karma thought she was beautiful.

* * *

 ** _beep_**

 ** _beep_**

 ** _Beep_**

The screeching sound of the alarm pierced the air, dragging Karma Akabane out of his dream and back to reality. That was right- he wasn't the twelve year old boy who trekked through forests and blushed at being kissed- he was a Bureaucrat, nearly thirty years old, and had a killer hangover.

He slammed his alarm off in annoyance. It had been seventeen years- Why did he still have to dream of that? His childhood and life with Nagisa didn't seem real anymore, it was like a distant mythical story to him, something not quite tangible, a magical time when he was happy and a girl named Nagisa Shiota still existed.

Then Nagisa died, his parents divorced and the spell was broken.

But this was reality. Karma was an adult, and Nagisa was dead. Alive only his memories, eternally twelve years old.

Karma started his day like he always did- staying in bed as long as he could without being too late, trying not to fall asleep in the shower, then attempting to drown his hangover using coffee. By the time he got into his sleek expensive car, it was the time he was already suppose to be in work. Ugh. Why did it have to start so damn early anyway?

Work was, well, work. He used to find it exciting not so long ago, but he'd climbed the ranks so fast and dominated the place so quickly that he soon bored of it when it no longer posed a challenge.

His assistant, Okuda, placed a strawberry coffee in front of him when Karma walked into his office, late as usual. She was only working here to save up money to go to university, her phone and people skills were pretty poor, but her coffee making talents made up for it- the girl seemed to use her chemistry expertise to concoct the perfect drinks.

"Excellent as usual." Karma said, giving out a rare compliment he reserved only for the few people he actually liked.

"T-Thank you." She stuttered, blushing.

* * *

The day was like any other; Saturated with boring paper work, pointless phone-calls and impossible demands from his pointy-haired boss.

By the time the clock struck six, Karma was ready to burn the building to the ground.

Sluggishly, he climbed into his car, and drove home, feeling a dull sense of relief that the day was finally over.

There was surprisingly little traffic on the way back. Karma was cruising in the car, listening to his radio, when suddenly, somebody ran out in front of his car.

Karma's reaction was instant; He slammed the breaks down so fast that the tires screeched loudly as the car rapidly came to a halt.

The offending jay-walker was still stood dazed, mere centermeters from the car. The person was wearing a pair of grey trousers and a matching blazer that Karma recognised as the school uniform of Kunugigouka.

Kids these days.

An annoyed expression on his face, Karma pulled his door open and stepped out the car. That had been close, Karma thought, he better make sure that this idiot school boy wasn't hurt.

"What kind of moron jumps out in front of a car?" Karma sneered, as he walked over. "Don't they teach you road safety in schoo- "

Karma froze when he saw the boy's face properly for the first time;

Porcelain skin, dainty features, big blue eyes framed with dark lashes that where currently widened in shock, and long silky blue hair.

It couldn't be.

"Um- I'm sorry, mister. Are you okay?" The boy (was it a boy?) asked. That voice- it was so familiar to Karma it was almost painful. Soft and light. It was the voice that haunted Karma in his dreams.

For once, the red haired man was lost for words. He could do nothing but stare at the being before him, as a torrent of emotions bubbled beneath the surface so overwhelming it rendered him unable to speak.

The boy bowed quickly, looking flustered. "A-Anyway, I'm really sorry about that." He said, before dashing off before Karma even had the chance to think to stop him.

As the boy left, Karma managed to read the name on his school bag.

His heart stopped. Those kanji, that name, so familiar to him it may as well be etched on his heart.

Nagisa Shiota.


	2. Chapter 2

**An; thanks for all the reviews! Sorry this next chapter took a while to write, review for more!**

* * *

 _Karma stormed through the thicket of trees by his house, kicking away any twigs or brambles unlucky enough to stand in his path, he let out a growl of frustration, lurching forward and punching a tree in front of him hard enough that a dent was left in the bark._

 _"Karma, what's wrong?" Nagisa asked, suddenly there. The red head jumped- when did she get here?_

 _"Nagisa?" He croaked, his breath catching in his throat. He blinked back the tears threatening to fall- it would be uncool for his girlfriend to see him cry._

 _"Your hand is bleeding!" She gasped, hurrying over and quickly grabbing his hand, and staunching the bleeding with her white cardigan._

 _Karma hadn't even noticed. He'd been so upset he'd tuned out the pain. But Nagisa's presence caused a sense of calm and comfort to wash over him._

 _"You don't have to do that. Your mum will get mad if you get your clothes dirty." Karma said half-heartedly, not making any attempt to stop Nagisa from treating his wound._

 _"I don't care." The girl said defiantly, as the white material became more and more saturated with blood. "Tell me what's wrong- are your parents arguing again?"_

 _Karma nodded. "I think they're going to break up for real this time." He said, willing himself to keep his eyes dry and his voice even. "Mum's pregnant and.. The baby isn't Dad's.."_

 _Nagisa gasped. Karma closed his eyes as the cruel words his parents where hurling at each other filled his ears._

 _" **I haven't touched you in months and you're pregnant? Who's baby is it, you filthy slut?"**_

 ** _"Well_ _maybe if you weren't such a hopeless loser I wouldn't have to look for satisfaction elsewhere!"_**

 ** _"Save it! You're nothing but a dirt fucking whore who'll open her legs for anyone. Is Karma even mine?"_**

 _"What if I have to move?" Karma said, despairingly. "What if I have to move away from you?"_

 _Nagisa hugged him. "Don't be silly. I'll always be here for you."_

 _Karma held her close, but suddenly felt something warm and gooey on his hands- blood._

 _He recoiled in horror, only to be met with a ghastly sight;_

 _Nagisa's face was swollen and mottled. A pink-brown goo dripped out her ears, and her blue eyes where liquidising, and dripping out of the socket. Her flesh was rancid and strips of bloody bone was exposed where it had worn away._

 _"Nagisa?" Karma cried. He tried to back away, but her grip was like a vice. She giggled._

 _"Don't mind me, Karma. I'm just rotting."_

* * *

Karma awoke his heart pounding and his pulse racing fretfully fast as he bolted up out of bed. He tried to calm his breathing, as he took in sharp shallow breaths.

 _Just a dream. It's just a dream._

He tried to remind himself, but it had seemed all too real. Even now, he could see Nagisa's beautiful face rotting away before his eyes. No! He didn't want to think about it. Amber eyes glanced at the clock; 12pm.

With a groan, the red haired man got up out of bed and trawled over to the shower, thoughts of Nagisa still circling his mind. She was inescapable.

As he stood in the shower, once again recreating the events of yesterday. That boy he saw, was without a doubt the spitting image of Nagisa- and he even had the same name written on his school bag.

 _How could that be? It was impossible, right?_ Karma had never believed in reincarnation or anything like that, _but what other explanation could there possibly be? Could it be just a hallucination? Was Karma having a psychotic break down?_ How could he tell- he needed to find out if there really was a Nagisa Shiota alive today.

 _But how? How could he discern if what he saw was psychosis or something else?_

Karma replayed the memory again, and his eyes widened in realisation. Nagisa had been wearing a Kunugigaoka school uniform. Karma had a contact in there.

Gakushuu Asano- Karma's younger half brother whom he hadn't seen in almost a year.

He was a smarmy little bastard who reminded Karma far too much of his step-dad, Gakushuu's father, for him to bring himself to like the bastard.

Even when he was little, Gakushuu had always been a insufferable know-it-all who thrived of annoying Karma, following him around and trying to act superior.

After Karma's parents had divorced, his mother had married the father of her unborn baby, Gakuhou Asano. It was a marriage of necessity, devoid of love, done only to salvage both their reputations.

If it wasn't for Gakushuu, Karma was sure his mother would of left long ago, but instead, the brat's existence kept her tethered to the living nightmare that is her husband.

Karma fired up his laptop and clicked on facebook, ignoring the multitude of farmville notifications and friend requests, and instead looked up his brother's profile;

Gakushuu Asano. His profile picture was him surrounded by a group of 'friends' holding yet another trophy for.. Something. Arrogant little shit. People often said Karma and Gakushuu looked alike, but Karma disagreed. One look at Gakushuu's amethyst eyes and you can tell he's really just a clone of his father.

 _Enough wasting time getting pissy over a profile pic!_

Suddenly feeling a wave of nerves, Karma searched through his brother's facebook until his found a group he was in 'Kunugigaoka high'

The red haired man clicked on it, and waited for the list of members to load, drumming his fingers on the desk impatiently.

This is it. A chance to see if there's proof that the Nagisa he saw was real, and not just some hallucination.

The page loaded, and there that fateful inescapable name was, right before Karma's eyes.

 **'Nagisa Shiota'**

On auto-piolet, Karma searched his profile, and his breath was nearly taken away by what he saw- It was Nagisa. Really Nagisa, staring back at him. She was smiling on her profile picture, wearing a boy's PE uniform and stood next to a few other kids that didn't matter.

With shaky hands, Karma got his wallet out of his pocket, and pulled out an old picture.

Karma and Nagisa at twelve years old, back when she was alive, and he was happy. It was the last picture of her ever taken. The two of them where stood side by side against the garden wall, holding hands tentatively. Nagisa had a pale pink summer dress on, and a wide smile on her face. Her blue eyes were sparkling and her blue hair was flowing down her back.

Karma kept this picture on him always. A scene of joy frozen and kept forever as proof that Karma had been happy and in love once.

The red haired man held the old photograph up, and compared the Nagisa from his childhood to the Nagisa staring at him from the computer screen.

They where the same. They looked identical, from their delicate pale skin to their azure blue eyes. Their name was the same. Their hair was the same.

The only difference was, that this new Nagisa was apparently a boy, and he was 16 while the original Nagisa would be 12 forever.

Karma felt his breathing increase rapidly, he felt dizzy and the palms of his hands tingled. _This was impossible? How could it be? Reanimation? Reincarnation?_

Karma didn't know. But what he did know was that he had to see Nagisa again.

* * *

 **In this story, Karma had his life pretty well put-together, at least, on the surface. (He has a good job, nice car, lots of money) but the presence of this 'new Nagisa' has completely tipped his precarious normality into complete chaos.**

 **I also revealed a bit of Karma's dysfunctional family life in this chapter. He has no support system, which is why he is still so hung up on Nagisa's death; She was the only person he'd truly ever trusted.**

 **as for the 'new Nagisa'; Is it a reincarnation? A hallucination? Or did the original Nagisa never die in the first place, and this is her? Review and let me know what you think!**


	3. Chapter 3

_Thank you for all the reviews! They helped me to write this: This chapter, Karma gets drunk and does stupid shit!._

* * *

It wasn't until hours after finding ' _Nagisa_ ' on Facebook, and several shots of vodka that Karma felt calm enough to be able to formulate a vague plan on how to find Nagisa.

Messaging Nagisa on facebook was out of the question. Karma knew how creepy it would look for a 28 year old to message a 16 year old high school kid claiming to be an ex-lover from a previous life. Karma briefly considered waiting outside the school gates to catch Nagisa, but decided that would be equally if not more suspicious. Finally, after yet another swig from his bottle of vodka, Karma decided to make use of his contact from within the school. Reluctantly, he called his brother. His vision blurring slightly from the alcohol, Karma clicked call and listened to the dial tone.

 _Ring-_

 _Ring-_

 _ **click-**_

The call didn't go through, frustrated, Karma tried again.

 _Ring_ -

 _ **Click-**_

The little shit was hanging up on him! Karma realised, annoyed. Yet another reason why Asano was the most irritating human he knew. Karma let out a frustrated sigh. All he wanted.. Was to see this new Nagisa and work out what was going on. Karma could feel his carefully constructed visage of control crumbling away as he grew more and more desperate. The dull ache in his heart had become a searing pain as the memories of Nagisa became fresh again.

Karma reached for his bottle to take another swig, only to find it was empty. He checked the time; 4pm. School would have just finished. Fuck it- If Asano wouldn't answer his calls, Karma would just come to him. Karma's house was closer to the Asano residence than the school was. He could cut him off.

Too drunk to even attempt to drive, Karma head off out of his apartment, and down the street, hardly even feeling the cold despite the fact he had no coat on. He ignored the people staring at him as he stumbled, and was almost sick a few times. The icey winter air was sobering, and by the time Karma arrived at the front of the Asano residence he was relatively clear-headed.

Karma stared up at the large, foreboding house. He hadn't been here in almost a year, yet looking at it still brought back painful memories of the times he had to stay here as a teenager, with a tyrant for a step-father, and a mother who was too busy with a baby to pay him any attention. He glanced up at the window of his old room, smiling slightly as he remembered all the times he'd snuck out of it when he'd been grounded.

"What are you doing here?" A familiar voice called out. Karma turned to see Asano stood before him in his uniform, a suspicious look on his face. He'd gotten taller since he'd last seen him, Karma realised. He was almost as tall as Karma now. That bothered the red haired man for some reason.

"What- can't I visit my family?" Karma said with a faux innocent smile. Asano narrowed his amethyst eyes.

"You never visit unless you're after something. And you're drunk." Asano said, crossing his arms.

"My, that's no way to speak to you're elder brother." Karma said, as he tried to formulate a plan of how to get Asano to introduce him to Nagisa. _Damn_. Maybe he should of thought this through first before he came storming over here on impulse. This wasn't like his normal self, but nothing had been normal since he'd seen Nagisa again.

"Well, if you're here to visit mother, just stay out of my way and don't bother me." Gakushuu conceded, before turning to walk into the house. Karma grabbed his wrist to stop him.

"Wait. I need you to do something for me." Karma said, being careful not to use the word ' _favour_ '. Asano pulled his wrist free.

"I knew you were after something." He grumbled, a scowl on his face. "Well- what is it?"

"I need you to introduce me to one of your classmates." Karma said, keeping up a casual visage, folding his arms. Gakushuu's gaze instantly turned suspicious.

"Which classmate? Why do you need that?" Gakushuu asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nagisa Shiota. And I need to see him because he... damaged my car and I need to get him to pay for it." Karma said, thinking of the excuse for seeing Nagisa at the last moment. Judging by the unconvinced look on Asano's face, he didn't buy it.

 _Nagisa Shiota? That meek, frail-looking boy from my school? He doesn't seem the type to be vandalising cars._ Asano thought skeptically. What on earth was his brother up to?

"That has nothing to do with me." Gakushuu said. "And I wont be responsible for introducing my classmate to some middle-aged psychopath."

"Middle-aged!? I'm still in my twenties you little brat!" Karma hissed, grabbing Gakushuu's wrist once again as he tried to leave. "I don't know why you're being difficult, just introduce me to Nagisa!"

"I already said No!" Gakushuu hissed back, "I don't know why you're so desperate to see him anywa- Ow!"

Gakushuu was cut off when Karma pushed him against the wall.

"Do you want money, is that what you want?" Karma asked, his tone harsh, a sense of desperation bubbling within him. Years of grieving and longing to see Nagisa had finally overflown.

"What is wrong with you?" Gakushuu hissed, trying to push his brother away angrily. Getting drunk and causing a ruckus was the type of thing Karma had done years ago, but he had matured once he had gotten into adulthood. At least. So Gakushuu had thought.

"I just.. Want to see Nagisa. Just let me see Nagisa." Karma said, looking almost defeated, although he didn't loosen his grip. It was an expression Gakushuu had never seen on his brother before, it looked oddly out of place. Before Gakushuu had a chance to push his brother off, someone else who had seen the altercation intervened.

"H-hey if you don't stop harassing him I'm going to have to call the police! You can't just go around mugging people!" A voice cried out, so meek that Karma hardly heard him over his and Gakushuu's arguing. But that voice, was somehow familiar. He turned to see a boy wearing the same uniform as his brother. But then Karma focused in on his face.

Impossibly blue eyes, soft-looking blue hair and smooth porcelain skin.

Karma let go of Gakushuu, his arms dropping by his side, and Amber eyes widening.

It was Nagisa, right here in front of him.

* * *

 **So far, Karma has almost hit Nagisa with a car, and been mistaken for a mugger. Next chapter, the truth about this Nagisa is revealed! Review for more!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry it took so long to write this. Thank you to people who reviewed.**

* * *

"Nagisa.." Karma gasped out, his eyes fixed on the small figure before him. Her hair may be tied up, and she may be wearing a male school uniform but Karma would recognise his first love anywhere. He'd seen her in his dreams almost every night for seventeen years. As he stared at her, everything else seemed to fall away. The things that didn't matter; The street, the cars, his brother all standing right next to him faded away and suddenly the only thing that existed was Karma and Nagisa standing opposite him.

Nagisa was staring back at him, a confused expression on her face. Her blue eyes were wide and darting between Karma and his brother. Karma wanted to reassure her.. let her know it was all okay because _somehow_ he had gotten her back, through some miracle he and Nagisa could be together again. This was all so surreal. Ignoring how his head was suddenly spinning from shock and intoxication, Karma took a few steps forward, stumbling towards Nagisa. _If I can just touch her.. If I can just know she's real.. It'll all be okay._

Nagisa backed away slightly as he approached her, a concerned expression on her face, Karma wasn't deterred however he reached out his hand to just _touch_ her, when he suddenly felt his head spin violently. He lurched forwards, his vision blurring before fading to black.

 _No!_

 _Just let me touch her, please! Let me know She's real!_

* * *

Karma was sure he was the youngest person at Nagisa's wake. practically the whole school would be attending to funeral but Karma was the only child who was close enough to Nagisa and her family to attend this particularly intimate gathering. Karma had been to Nagisa's house countless times while the two of them were growing up, he knew it almost as well as his own. But right now, this place no longer felt like Nagisa's house, because Nagisa wasn't here.

 _Well. That's not entirely true._ Karma couldn't help but think, glancing over at the coffin that sat in the middle of the living room. He quickly looked away.. No.. the _thing_ in there wasn't Nagisa, not really. Karma hadn't looked inside the coffin yet because that would make it real.. Part of him still clung to the hope that the person inn the coffin wasn't Nagisa.. they'd just pulled the wrong person out the river. This was one huge misunderstanding. But Karma knew once he looked at the body that illusion would be shattered.

The house was full of grownups in stiff black suits and black dresses, all of them murmuring quietly amoungst themselves as if they dare not make any sort of disturbance for fear of waking a monster. It made the whole atmosphere even worse, it was stilted somehow and tense, it made Karma's stomach churn with nerves. Even Karma's parents were making an effort to be forcibly civil with each other for the occasion, which was amazing in itself considering they'd done nothing but argue for the past few months and his mother had filed for divorce.

His father, dressed in his now too-tight old wedding tux was talking in a low voice with Nagisa's father, while Karma's mother was busying herself in the kitchen by making endless cups of tea for people. She wore an ill-fitting blazer to disguise her growing baby bump, as if she thought making it evident she was expecting a child when Hiromei had just lost one would be offensive.

Speaking of Hiromi.. Karma hadn't seen her all day.. but he had heard her wails from upstairs.

 _Nagisa wouldn't want this.. ! And it isn't even Nagisa in that coffin, I know it!_ Karma convinced himself. He stood up, planning on leaving. He'd go back to the river and find the _real_ Nagisa. She was probably just lost somewhere and wondering why nobody was coming to find her. Karma could almost visualize her sat cold and lonely on a riverbank somewhere waiting for him to come save her. Karma went to head out the door to the foyer, but stopped in his tracks when Nagisa's mother was suddenly stood in front of him. She wasn't a tall woman, in fact she was about the same height as the twelve year old Karma, but in that moment, she appeared to loom over him.

She looked awful. Her skin was waxy and her normally immaculate hair looked thin and even patchy, her eye brows were almost non-existent, as if they'd been plucked down to the thread bears. The palms of her hands were calloused and full of cuts and scabs, Karma knew it was from over washing them. Hiromei had always taken care of her figure, but she'd clearly put on weight, her stomach looked swollen, although her face looked drawn as if she had aged ten years. But the thing that Karma noticed the most was her expression.

Her lips (dry, and cracked from biting) were drawn firmly in a line. Her blue eyes were wide and held an undercurrent of grief and madness, as if she were on the brink of falling apart.

"Mrs Shiota.." Karma started to say. He hadn't spoke to her since the police station a few weeks ago. He had no idea what to say, and for perhaps the first time in his life he felt too scared to speak.

"Karma." She said, sounding as if it was taking all her effort to keep her voice even. "Leaving already? Is the wake of my only daughter boring you?"

"No- I- " Karma stuttered, suddenly feeling younger than his 12 years. Suddenly his explanation about finding the 'real' Nagisa sounded incredibly stupid. Nagisa's mother grabbed his upper arm harshly.

"Before you leave, you should at least pay your respects too Nagisa. My only daughter." Hiromei said, suddenly pushing Karma towards the coffin. In a blind panic, Karma tried to pull away but for some reason he felt unable to use his full strength.

"No.. No.. please." He begged. He didn't want to see. He didn't want to have to see Nagisa like _that_ but Hiromei kept dragging him closer and now, other people were looking at the commotion, Karma felt the looks of Nagisa's family members boring into him, accusing him. He looked at his father pleadingly, silently begging the man to come and save him. His father only returned his silent plea with a disapproving look that seemed to say _Stop Embarrassing me by making a fuss._ Karma felt a stab of betrayal.

"You should see this, Karma. You should see what _you_ did to her! What you did to my Nagisa!" Hiromei said, her voice raising to a shriek. Her uncut nails were digging into Karma's forearm now through his blazer jacket, tears of guilt and panic stung his eyes. Karma hadn't cried in front of grown ups for _years,_ he always felt far too old and too mature for that. But right now he couldn't help it.

"Hiromei, please, he's just a child." One of Nagisa's aunt's said, placing a reassuring hand on Hiromei's shoulder. Hiromei shook her off agressively.

"MY NAGISA was a child!" Hiromei screamed, still dragging Karma towards to coffin. "And now she's **dead** because of _him!"_

The room went silent. Nobody dared argue with a mother in mourning. Karma felt himself being pushed into the coffin and felt suddenly sick to his stomach.

"I- It's not my fault.. I didn't mean for this to happen.." Karma murmured more to himself than anyone else. Hiromei didn't even acknowledge it. She simply grabbed the boy by his chin, forcing him to look into the coffin. Karma wanted to look away, but something forze him place.

It _was_ Nagisa in the coffin. Her eyes were closed but she looked too unnaturally still to be sleeping. She had garish pink bows in her hair, and was wearing a childish frilly pink dress, the type she despised but her mother loved. Her skin tone didn't look entirely natural, Karma realized that the undertaker had likely put makeup on her to disguise how deathly pale she was. The body was slightly bloated (from the drowning) adding to the disturbing look of it. Her eyes and mouth were glued shut.

A powdery perfume smell wafted from the coffin that was clearly used to disguise the scent of death. None of Nagisa's normal warmth emitted from the casket. She was ice cold. Karma opened his mouth to scream, but nothing came out.

* * *

Karma's eyes snapped open as soon as he woke up. His breathing was ragged and his heart hammered in his chest. He felt cold sweat trickle down the back of his neck. _A dream.. Just a dream. Of a memory that really happened._

"Finally, you're awake. I was starting to think I'd have to douse you in cold water you crazy drunk." Gakushuu said. He was sat on a white arm chair opposite Karma. karma blinked, taking in his surroundings; He was lying on the sofa in his mother's house.. He'd recognise this boring decor anywhere. "What's wrong with you? Aren't you almost thirty? You're too old to be getting yourself so drunk you pass out in the middle of the street. You're lucky Father isn't here.."

"Well he's not my father, is he kid?" Karma retorted, suddenly aware of the pounding headache and churning stomach ache he was experiencing. _Damn hangover_. He pulled himself into sitting position, trying to remember how he'd gotten into this situation. _Oh shit! Yeah!_ "Wait! Where is Nagisa? I know I saw her!"

" _Her?_ you mean _him_. Nagisa is male. After you embarrassed yourself by passing out in the middle of the street, Nagisa was kind enough to help me drag your sorry self into the house before he had to leave." Gakushuu said, crossing his arms. Something about the tone of his voice made Karma think he would of preferred to leave his brother outside. Gakushuu pulled out a small piece of paper from his sleeve. "I don't know what's _really_ going on between you two, but Nagisa left his details for you. He told me to tell you that he'd meet up with you tomorrow and 'explain everything', whatever that means."

Karma stood up off the sofa, feeling the world lurch, he took the piece of paper off Gakushuu, scanning it. It had a mobile phone number, and an address underneath it. This address was- _Impossible!_ Kamra re-read it, recognising the street name as the one he'd grown up on. But not just that.. the Address written on the paper was of the house next to his childhood home. _Nagisa's house._ Even after all this time he hadn't forgotten it. All of this was so impossible! How could it be real? Time travel? re-incarnation? This Nagisa not only had the same name and face as _his_ Nagisa, but lived in the same house? How? Did magic really exist? What if Hiromei had somehow resurrected her daughter? But then why did he claim to be male?

"Whatever this is, it best not be anything illegal- I don't want my reputation tarnished because of your foolish actions." Gakushuu said sternly, breaking Karma out of his train of thought. "You do know he's only the same age that I am."

"So what.. like twelve?" Karma said, unable to resist the urge to tease his brother. Gakushuu scowled.

"Sixteen! I'm sixteen!" He huffed. Pretending not to know his age annoyed Gakushuu as much now as when Karma used to do it when Gakushuu was five. Gakushuu's short fuse was one of Karma's favourite things about him, if only because it had always made it incredibly easy for Karma to annoy his brother.

"Are you sure? You still look like a kid to me." Karma said, pretending to look Gakushuu up and down.

"I'm almost as tall as you! I'm going to be a senior next year!" Gakushuu ranted. Karma just laughed, feeling some of the tension that had built up in his body from his nightmare disappear.

"You'll always be a baby to me." Karma said, sitting back on the sofa. He wanted to drive to Nagisa's address right now, but logically he knew he was too drunk for that so he shoved those thoughts to the back of his head. "Anyway, make your big brother some tea- he has a killer hangover."

"And who's fault is that? Make your own tea." Gakushuu said dismissively, storming out the room. Believe it or not, Gakushuu was usually a calm and collected person, but _something_ about his brother managed to piss him off. He thought back to the conversation he'd had with Shiota before he'd left;

 _"Why is my brother so preoccupied with you?" Gakushuu asked as he hauled the unconscious Karma over the threshold to the house. Nagisa, who had hold of Karma's legs simply shrugged._

 _"I- I don't really know." Nagisa replied. Gakushuu narrowed his eyes as he detected a lie._

 _"If you say so." Gakushuu said, keeping hold of Karma's upper body as he carried him into the living room. This whole situation was strange and he didn't like it. "If you're lying, the truth will come out eventually."_

 _"What type of person is Karma?" Nagisa asked, seemingly attempting to change the subject. Well, that took Gakushuu by surprise. Nagisa averted his blue eyes. "Sorry if it seems like I'm prying."_

 _"Karma is.. He's sort of.. " Gakushuu started, trying to think of the right words to describe his brother. "Karma has always hated me for as long as I can remember, and truth me told I've grown to greatly dislike him. He's smart, but he always seems to waste it on frivolous pursuits, he doesn't care anything about the families reputation and he always puts himself first. He's forever arguing with our parents and causing trouble. He's a little better now he's an adult but he still always tries to piss me off... "_

 _Gakushuu cut himself off when he realised that he was ranting. Nagisa looked deep in thought as if he were mulling over Gakushuu's words._

 _"Why do you care about what type of person he is, anyway?"_

 _"Just curious." Nagisa lied._

* * *

 ** _I know I said the truth about Nagisa would be revealed in this chapter but it ended up being longer than I planned, but I plan on putting the next chapter out soon. Although there was a pretty big hint about who this Nagisa is in this chapter, if you squint._**

 ** _Please review for more!_**


End file.
